RPG Vault - Anarchy Online: Shadowlands Peek of the Week #12

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The righteous, knight-like Keeper profession that Funcom will implement in its upcoming expansion pack

By IGN Staff

By the year 29,475, the human race has its reach far beyond Earth and its home solar system. A huge number of worlds within the Milky Way have been explored and colonized, both for the simple purpose of discovery and also in search of resources to support continued progress and expansion. Among these is Rubi-Ka, a inhospitable and seemingly insignificant speck situated on a far frontier of the galaxy. However, because it is home to rich deposits of Notum, the rare substance that is essential to nanotechnology, this remote planet, which the massive Omni-Tek Corporation officially controls, is actually critical.

In the outlying areas however, its regime is under constant challenge from rebel clans that have banded together in a loose alliance. As a result, Rubi-Ka is ravaged by the unremitting conflict that plays out in Funcom's award-winning persistent state title, Anarchy Online. Later this year, the studio is poised to deliver Shadowlands, an expansion pack that will add many features including the titular territory, an eerie, mystical area that contrasts dramatically with the current environment. As development progresses toward release, our friends at Funcom have kindly agreed to let us show you glimpses on a regular basis.

The Keeper As mentioned in last week's Peek, there will be two new professions inside Shadowlands, the Shade and the Keeper. This week, you can read more about the Keeper.

The Keeper is the "righteous" fighter, and will be focused primarily on combat and helping team mates. They are a melee class specializing in two-handed edged weapons, and will fall just above the adventurer in terms of damage output.

The Keeper is seen as more of the old-style knight, in the Templar mold. In shining armor, he uses his massive sword to smite evil (or good). He burns with the zealous fervor of knowing that it is in his right to combat enemies.

Nano-wise, the Keeper will have a number of different lines, most of which will be auras. There will be few direct-cast nanos, and none that are cast in battle. Lines of nanos will be anti-snare, anti-root (reducing the duration of such nanos), damage increasing auras, ams/dms buffing auras, and attack absorbing auras. The Keeper only has beneficial auras, no debuff auras.

Additionally, the Keeper will have a special attack called Righteous Fury for Clan and Unhallowed Fury for Omni. This will be enabled via a self-only buff. This attack is much like a fast attack (one of the special attacks in Anarchy Online), but it will inflict additional damage against enemies in the Shadowlands. The power of the attack will increase with the level of the Keeper. If Keepers become neutral, they lose the ability to use Righteous/Unhallowed Fury. Unhallowed Fury is weaker than Righteous Fury, but acts as a life tap for the Omni Keeper.

Story-wise, they are seen as the front-line fighters that have been directly recruited by the Redeemed and Unredeemed to fight in the Shadowlands. The Keeper has a high affinity with the Shadowlands and the primary groups there. Thus, the Keeper cannot start as a Neutral character, but must begin as either an Omni-Tek or Clan character.